Conversation with Honghao Zhao on Views and Life

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Publisher: In-Sight Publishing

Publisher Founding: March 1, 2014

Web Domain: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com

Location: Fort Langley, Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada

Journal: In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal

Journal Founding: August 2, 2012

Frequency: Three (3) Times Per Year

Review Status: Non-Peer-Reviewed

Access: Electronic/Digital & Open Access

Fees: None (Free)

Volume Numbering: 13

Issue Numbering: 1

Section: A

Theme Type: Idea

Theme Premise: “Outliers and Outsiders”

Theme Part: 32

Formal Sub-Theme: None.

Individual Publication Date: September 15, 2024

Issue Publication Date: January 1, 2025

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Word Count: 1,473

Image Credits: Scott Lord on Unsplash.

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN): 2369-6885

*High range testing (HRT) should be taken with honest skepticism grounded in the limited development of the field at present, even in spite of honest and sincere efforts.*

*Please see the footnotes, bibliography, and citations, after the publication.*

Abstract

Honghao Zhao is a member of the OLYMPIQ Society based on a qualifying score on the Strict Logic Spatial Examination 48. Zhao discusses: growing up; extended self; family background; youth with friends; education; purpose of intelligence tests; high intelligence; extreme reactions to geniuses; greatest geniuses; genius and a profoundly gifted person; necessities for genius or the definition of genius; work experiences and jobs held; job path; myths of the gifted; God; science; tests taken and scores earned; range of the scores; ethical philosophy; political philosophy; metaphysics; worldview; meaning in life; source of meaning; afterlife; life; and love.

Keywords: bear story, bullying, Confucian culture, Dao concept, geniuses in history, high intelligence, intelligence tests, materialist atheist, social reactions, talent in mathematics.

Conversation with Honghao Zhao on Views and Life

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: When you were growing up, what were some of the prominent family stories being told over time?

Honghao Zhao: There are no particularly special stories, just some amusing anecdotes that parents or older generations share during their leisure time.For example, a bear picking corn.

Jacobsen: Have these stories helped provide a sense of an extended self or a sense of the family legacy?

Zhao: This story is actually an interesting folk saying about a bear picking corn. The bear walks into a cornfield, picks an ear of corn and tucks it under its arm. After walking a few steps, it picks another ear of corn, but the first one falls out. This story is often used to describe someone who is so focused on one thing that they neglect another, ultimately gaining very little. Of course, this story is just one of the many stories my grandparents told me to entertain me when I was a child. The purpose wasn’t really about an extended self  or the family legacy.

Jacobsen: What was the family background, e.g., geography, culture, language, and religion or lack thereof?

Zhao:  I come from an urban household, although my parents are both from rural backgrounds. I grew up in Shandong, including attending university and graduate school here. As you might know, this is also the birthplace of Confucius and is deeply influenced by Confucian culture. Besides my native language, Chinese, I have a limited proficiency in English. As for religious beliefs, I am a materialist, or an atheist, except perhaps for the concept of “Dao”, which I understand as the rules and principles governing the operation of all things.

Jacobsen: How was the experience with peers and schoolmates as a child and an adolescent?

Zhao: When I first started elementary school, I was quite introverted and was often bullied by girls, so I had few friends. By the time I was in middle and high school, I had grown quite tall and my talent in mathematics had become apparent. Although I was still relatively introverted, I got along well with my classmates and had quite a few friends.

Jacobsen: What have been some professional certifications, qualifications, and trainings earned by you?

Zhao: Some awards in mathematics competitions and structural design competitions, some awards in the field of rail transit, and a master’s degree in civil engineering.

Jacobsen: What is the purpose of intelligence tests to you?

Zhao: Initially, intelligence tests were just a curious experiment for me. Later on, they became more like brain games that could inspire my thinking.

Jacobsen: When was high intelligence discovered for you?

Zhao:  If you mean discovering a high score through an intelligence test, that was in 2018 when I was 19 years old. However, in daily life, I had already easily completed the “Sokoban” game on my phone during kindergarten. In middle school, my grades were excellent, especially in mathematics. My mental arithmetic skills were outstanding at that time because I could easily visualize a clear draft paper in my mind and perform calculations on it.

Jacobsen: When you think of the ways in which the geniuses of the past have either been mocked, vilified, and condemned if not killed, or praised, flattered, platformed, and revered, what seems like the reason for the extreme reactions to and treatment of geniuses? Many alive today seem camera shy — many, not all.

Zhao:  In my understanding, geniuses are inevitably vastly different from ordinary people in one or even multiple aspects, statistically lying at the edges of the normal distribution. This makes it clear that the essence of a genius is being out of sync in one or more aspects, unless they have high social skills, commonly known as emotional intelligence, to appear more sociable. For the collective will of a group, extreme non-conformity is unacceptable; the concept of “seeking common ground while reserving differences”usually only tolerates minor differences. In this context, if a genius achieves highly recognized accomplishments by society, their uniqueness can be praised. However, if a genius fails to achieve this, they are seen as out of place and not regarded as a genius by others, and they might not even see themselves as a genius. How could they not be mocked in such a situation?

Jacobsen: Who seem like the greatest geniuses in history to you?

Zhao: Perhaps Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Isaac Newton, etc.

Jacobsen: What differentiates a genius from a profoundly intelligent person?

Zhao: It depends on how you define a genius and a profoundly intelligent person. The difference in definitions is the difference between the two.If we define a genius as someone who has exceptional talent in a particular field, and a person with a very high IQ as someone who scores extremely high on IQ tests, then a genius could be a mathematician, physicist, dancer, painter, etc., while a person with a very high IQ might only excel in mental capabilities.

Jacobsen: Is profound intelligence necessary for genius?

Zhao: Possibly not necessary in very rare cases.

Jacobsen: What have been some work experiences and jobs held by you?

Zhao: I only have experience with attending school and pursuing graduate studies for now. Of course, during my graduate studies, I need to conduct experiments for scientific research or solve some engineering problems.

Jacobsen: Why pursue this particular job path?

Zhao: Obtain a master’s degree and find a job to make a living.

Jacobsen: What are some of the more important aspects of the idea of the gifted and geniuses? Those myths that pervade the cultures of the world. What are those myths? What truths dispel them?

Zhao: Geniuses.I don’t know much about those myths.

Jacobsen: Any thoughts on the God concept or gods idea and philosophy, theology, and religion?

Zhao: I am an atheist, unless this god is just a powerful being, similar to how modern technology might be considered god-like if it traveled back to ancient times. If this god refers to an omniscient and omnipotent entity with its own free will to control our destiny, requiring people’s worship or sacrifices, then I do not believe in it. I only believe that the universe has ‘laws’ ,such as logic, mathematics, and physical laws.

Jacobsen: How much does science play into the worldview for you?

Zhao: Most of it.

Jacobsen: What have been some of the tests taken and scores earned (with standard deviations) for you?

Zhao: SLSE 48, by Jonathan Wai, 30.5/48, IQ178.6(SD15); 

Qing, by Huanyun Chen, 29.5/33, IQ167(SD15); 

Numerus, by Ivan Ivec, 15/30, IQ156(SD15)

夜曲其二, by Mahir Wu, 47.5/60, IQ153.8(SD15)

Jacobsen: What is the range of the scores for you? The scores earned on alternative intelligence tests tend to produce a wide smattering of data points rather than clusters, typically.

Zhao: Currently, it’s approximately between 150 and 180.

Jacobsen: What ethical philosophy makes some sense, even the most workable sense to you?

Zhao: I believe that humans, like animals, are born without a distinction between good and evil, only with purity and the instinct to seek benefits and avoid harm. For the benefit of the group, people seek common ground while reserving differences, forming laws and moral concepts. This is somewhat similar to reducing variance while keeping the overall expectation constant. However, personally, I think humans should pursue something different from animals, namely spiritual pursuits, so I am more inclined to do good deeds.

Jacobsen: What social philosophy makes some sense, even the most workable sense to you?

Zhao: Maintain your integrity in poverty; help the world in prosperity.

Jacobsen: What economic philosophy makes some sense, even the most workable sense to you?

Zhao: Reap what you sow.

Jacobsen: What political philosophy makes some sense, even the most workable sense to you?

Zhao: The free and comprehensive development of every individual.

Jacobsen: What metaphysics makes some sense to you, even the most workable sense to you?

Zhao: Perhaps the pursuit of free will.

Jacobsen: What worldview-encompassing philosophical system makes some sense, even the most workable sense to you?

Zhao: The only constant in life is change. So I won’t judge what is most meaningful.

Jacobsen: What provides meaning in life for you?

Zhao: Thinking.

Jacobsen: Is meaning externally derived, internally generated, both, or something else?

Zhao: Both.

Jacobsen: Do you believe in an afterlife? If so, why, and what form? If not, why not?

Zhao: I don’t believe in an afterlife, ‘innocent until proven guilty,’ but I hope there is one, in whatever form.

Jacobsen: What do you make of the mystery and transience of life?

Zhao: People today do not see the moon of ancient times, but the moon today once shone on the ancients.

Jacobsen: What is love to you? 

Zhao: Perhaps, love is about giving rather than taking.

Bibliography

None

Footnotes

None

Citations

American Medical Association (AMA 11th Edition): Jacobsen S. Conversation with Honghao Zhao on Views and Life. September 2024; 13(1). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/zhao-1

American Psychological Association (APA 7th Edition): Jacobsen, S. (2024, September 15). Conversation with Honghao Zhao on Views and Life. In-Sight Publishing. 13(1).

Brazilian National Standards (ABNT): JACOBSEN, S. Conversation with Honghao Zhao on Views and Life. In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, Fort Langley, v. 13, n. 1, 2024.

Chicago/Turabian, Author-Date (17th Edition): Jacobsen, Scott. 2024. “Conversation with Honghao Zhao on Views and Life.” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal 13, no. 1 (Winter). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/zhao-1.

Chicago/Turabian, Notes & Bibliography (17th Edition): Jacobsen, S “Conversation with Honghao Zhao on Views and Life.” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal 13, no. 1 (September 2024).http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/zhao-1.

Harvard: Jacobsen, S. (2024) ‘Conversation with Honghao Zhao on Views and Life’, In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, 13(1). <http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/zhao-1>.

Harvard (Australian): Jacobsen, S 2024, ‘Conversation with Honghao Zhao on Views and Life’, In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, vol. 13, no. 1, <http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/zhao-1>.

Modern Language Association (MLA, 9th Edition): Jacobsen, Scott. “Conversation with Honghao Zhao on Views and Life.” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, vo.13, no. 1, 2024, http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/zhao-1.

Vancouver/ICMJE: Scott J. Conversation with Honghao Zhao on Views and Life [Internet]. 2024 Sep; 13(1). Available from: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/zhao-1.

License & Copyright

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